Separation
by Lavenderangel
Summary: Alan and Amy's picture perfect Marriage is falling apart, tearing up Cory in the process. Set during season1, will be a C&T friendship fic. The begining is a bit slow, but this will hopefully get better. Review with any suggestions you might have!


Separation  
  
Part 1  
  
[A/N  
  
Wow, it's been a while. I know that I promised that the next series I did was going to be that season five thing, but I hate script format, and have writer's block. So, you're stuck with this. The first of it's kind: Cory angst! ::Grins proudly:: Nothing bad ever seems to happen in his life, so I decided to be evil. Also, I don't ever remember seeing Cory cry at anytime during the series. Well, seriously, that is. We saw Shawn cry several times, The hospital with Turner, the hospital with Chet, to name a few. Eric cried a couple of times too: after the 'bunny baby' incident, saying good bye to Feeny… And then there's Jack…::drools:: don't get me started on he and Rach's kiss scene…  
  
Sadly, this will have no J/R in it! This is set during season 1, but I think I can work some S&A stuff in here if I really try. Also, this isn't meant to be romance, more like friendship. I think… :D  
  
This will mostly be C&T centric, and I'm trying to keep her in character as best I can… ideas greatly appreciated!  
  
BMW's characters don't belong to me.]  
  
12-year-old Cory Matthews was awoken by the yells and screams of his parents. He sat up, wiping the sleep from his eyes. It wasn't normal for his parents to be fighting like this, and certainly not this loud.  
  
"Eric?" He whispered to the boy in the opposite bed. His older brother made no response.  
  
"Eric?" He said again, slightly louder. But once again, Eric didn't answer his brother.  
  
Cory walked over to his brother's bed, and moved aside the blankets.  
  
Eric was covering his head with his pillow and pretending to be asleep, an expression of discomfort on his face.  
  
"You heard them too?" Cory asked.  
  
Eric sighed and uncovered his head to look at Cory properly in the weak light. He sat up slowly, sighing as he did so. "Yeah, I heard them. It's worse than when me and my girlfriends fight."  
  
Cory would have usually made some comment about how Eric was dumped once a week, so this was very different, but it was drown out by a yell from Amy.  
  
"I can't take this anymore," her voice was thick with emotion. "I want a divorce."  
  
Cory's face paled. They were going to get a divorce. But why? What had happened?  
  
He looked at Eric to see his reaction to this sudden news. His brother's face was void of any emotion, and he was staring hard at Cory.  
  
Cory looked back at him, the screams from downstairs unable to reach either boy's ears. They seemed to reach a silent agreement, and Cory sat down on Eric's bed. Together, they listened to their parents heart-breaking yells, neither looking at the other, for fear of them seeing his expression.  
  
Cory didn't know how long later, but sometime he made the short walk back to his own bed. Silence was all that could be heard from downstairs now, but the echoes of the previous argument still remained in Cory's head. It took the young boy a long time to fall back to sleep, but even there the words didn't leave him…  
  
Soft sunlight streamed into the Matthew's home the next morning, as birds sung cheerfully outside. The mood inside was much different than the outside world, however.  
  
"Where's Daddy?" 5-year-old Morgan questioned as she looked around the family's kitchen and didn't spot her father.  
  
From where she stood at the stove, Amy turned to look at her daughter. "He had to leave for something really early this morning, Honey." She explained to her daughter as gently as she could. It was hard to discuss her soon-to-be ex in such a kind way, but she forced herself to do it for the sake of her youngest child.  
  
She couldn't believe her husband. They'd been having financial provlems recently, and the day before Alan had drawn the final straw by quitting his job.  
  
Cory and Eric came in just to overhear their mother's last statement, and exchanged a knowing look behind both females' backs.  
  
"Morning Mom," Cory said tiredly dropping into a chair at the kitchen table next to Morgan and pouring himself a bowl of lucky charms.  
  
"Hey Cor," Amy said as she glanced briefly at her son. "How'd you sleep?"  
  
"Okay," Cory lied, not wanting her to know that he along with Eric had overheard their fight.  
  
"That's good," she said absently, turning back to the stove.  
  
Cory slid sadly into his seat at school later that day, barely even registering that Shawn was trying to talk to him.  
  
"And so then he slid into home… Cory, are you listening to me?!" Cory jumped.  
  
"Oh sorry," he muttered, barely looking at his friend.  
  
"Cory," a feminine voice entered their conversation abruptly. "Your aura seems troubled this morning. Did you hear about the bad arrangement of Mars too?"  
  
"No, it's not that." Cory muttered, too tired and upset to think of some kind of sarcastic retort or insult to reply with.  
  
"Oh," Topanga's voice sounded slightly concerned. "What is it then?"  
  
Thankfully for Cory, the bell rang at that moment, and minutes later, the usual lessons had begun for the day.  
  
Cory stared around the cafeteria a few hours later. He had two options. He could go and sit with Shawn and most of the other boys, listen and try to participate with the latest news on sports, and most likely be stared at for not paying attention. Or, he could sit with the other geeks.  
  
He thought back to the few days he'd sat with them. They hadn't treated him meanly, and he didn't think he was up to a half an hour listening to more of Shawn's babbling. And Topanga had said there would always be a seat for him…  
  
Making up his mind, he hurried towards one of the tables, stopping nervously behind one of his oldest friends.  
  
"Um, can I sit here?" He asked with an unusual tone of nervousness in his voice, pointing to the empty seat beside her.  
  
Topanga, along with the rest of the table looked up at him in surprise. "…Sure," Topanga said after a moment.  
  
Cory let out a sigh of relief that he hoped nobody heard, and dropped gratefully into the empty seat beside her.  
  
They ate in relative silence, something that Cory was glad of. He nibbled at his peanut butter sandwich, not even touching the rest of his lunch.  
  
"Cory, you never answered my question from earlier," Topanga's voice penetrated his thoughts.  
  
Cory looked up, slightly startled. "What was it again?" He practically muttered in reply.  
  
"What seems to be bothering you?"  
  
Cory looked at her for a moment. Even if he'd wanted to, he didn't know how to tell her. What do you say in situations like these? 'Oh, it's nothing, my parents are just getting divorced?' He didn't think so.  
  
"Oh, it's nothing," he said in reply, not meeting her eyes.  
  
"Are you sure?" She looked concerned.  
  
"Uh huh," he responded quietly, feeling worse than ever.  
  
He could tell she didn't believe him, but didn't care.  
  
She didn't ask anymore questions, clearly seeing that he didn't want to talk about it.  
  
Later, as Cory was preparing to leave, Topanga came over to his locker.  
  
"Cory, I'm coming home with you tomorrow, right?"  
  
At Cory's blank stare, she explained. "My parents are going out of town, remember? I'm staying at your house for the week."  
  
And then he remembered. Great. How could he keep his problem from her now?  
  
"Yeah," he said unhappily, "I remember."  
  
And he was dreading every minute of it.  
  
[A/N  
  
Well, there's part 1! I've been working on this thing for two months and have just now finished part 1! I have a vague idea of what's going to happen, but not much. So, just bare with me!  
  
Thanks, and please review!  
  
L_angel] 


End file.
